Toward the development of post Covid-19 gender policy measures to end modern slavery and exploitation in the Bangladeshi garment sector

This project aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in garment sector in Bangladesh that supplies goods to retailers in the Global North and recommend gender policy measures to end modern slavery and exploitation with the sector. Our proposed research responds to ongoing global concerns over working conditions in a developing nation. Amid the COVID-9 Pandemic, international news coverage and NGOs' reports have highlighted that big retailers, some based in the UK have cancelled orders without even paying for production costs already laid out, delaying payments and asking for discounts from factories. As of April, 2020, more than US$3 billion in orders to around 1200 factories were in limbo, leaving around 2.8 million workers, mostly women, facing poverty and hunger. To meet orders that were still on the books in April and May, factory owners forced workers to continue to work, leaving them at risk of catching COVID-19 and spreading the virus to their families and communities. Therefore, amid the pandemic, workers have either been laid off without pay or forced to work in unsafe environments. Given that, neither the Government, factory owners nor retailers are taking any clear responsibility for workers who have been laid off without pay, meaning they no longer have the means to provide for families.

Prior social science research has highlighted prevalence of exploitation, unequal pay, gender discrimination, harassment, forced labour (including excessive overtime), physical and verbal abuse and so on associated with the women workers in the garment sector. Many people in the North recognize these as modern slavery. A few studies suggested that the prohibition of slavery (such as harassment; force labor) can play a significant role to improve the working condition for female workers in the garments sector. Given this, the current Covid 19 pandemic takes a new shape in slavery as women workers are now most vulnerable because of the absence of social safety net. There is also huge concern over slavery by women workers as no one (government inspector, compliance auditor, owners, buyers and even workers rights NGOs) is clearly monitoring whether factory owners are complying with existing policy, and transparency and accountability mechanism during the period of pandemic. Given the circumstances, we conduct situational analysis of women workers both during and post COVID 19 pandemic times and seek to develop gender policy measures for eliminating slavery and creating a sound/sustainable social safety net within the global clothing supply chains operating in Bangladesh. For this research, we use mixed research methods, i.e. survey workers and compliance auditors and interview key stakeholders and gender policy informants within the garment sector in Bangladesh.